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Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Merry Yule, Merry Christmas!

December 2015

Hello darlings, forgive me for my prolonged absence. I thought that after moving things would be back to normal and I'd be blogging my little heart out. It's not gone as planned at all. I was released from my work contract and am now awaiting EI. It's earlier than I was told it would be, but I think my boss was a little too hopeful and thought we would get more orders for the end of December and beginning of January. We didn't, so I got axed shortly after my birthday. It's been a tremendous relief on me physically. I'm able to nap during the day so I can recover, which is good, because apparently for the last couple of weeks I've had a kidney infection. I noticed an unexplained stabbing pain in my back and front left side. I finally went to a walk in clinic (my doc was unavailable - as usual) and I had a urine sample taken yesterday. The doctor confirmed that white blood cells were present. So I'm sick. I feel nauseated and feverish most of the time. Bed rest is my main priority, and drinking plenty of fluids.

My birthday was alright. I had some family over and decorated the place with colourful balloons and streamers, and floral elements that were reminiscent of the Day of the Dead. I had a skull cake (photo above) and it was good. It was more like a giant muffin than a cake lol. My fiance spoiled me, and I really appreciate that. My birthday can sometimes feel sad and lonely. People don't really come to see me often. They usually use the weather as an excuse. For reasons beyond me, my Nana didn't attend and gave me a card the day before. My grandmother was home with a broken finger, and my parents almost didn't come (I had to ask them). I'm glad they did, because I was really worried no one would show. I'd still have my fiance, but it's really depressing when people decide not to come, especially when I decorated and made a cake and got hors d'oeuvres. Is it just me, or do people not treat birthdays the same any more? Even holidays. We're approaching Christmas and my parents still don't know what's happening. I mean ffs, it takes five seconds to call people and ask. I think my parents are becoming more lazy and anti-social as they get older... And they used to criticize me for that shit. 0.0

***Please forgive me for these blah pictures, I had to edit them in GIMP instead of my usual Photoshop, so some of them are a little lack luster, not properly coloured or titled. I plan on fixing them eventually.

Christmas 2015

The first thing I did after moving was put up my tree. I think it's beautiful. I really wanted to go with fun jewel tones this year. Most of our decorations actually came from the dollar store, and they're better quality than a lot of the shit I've been seeing elsewhere lol. The tree has both multi colour and white lights, the reason for this is that I tried multi on their own and it made my tree look orange. The coloured lights have yellow and red, but the yellow is actually orange when lit, and there are far more of them than the blue and green lights. Adding white lights helped to tone it down, and it looked good with my snowflake topper. My mom and dad bought me a set of blue and pink ombre bulbs, and I love them.

I also made a small Christmas tree for my fireplace upstairs. I bought this tree back in November and had planned on giving it to my mom. She made mention that gold wasn't her thing, so I decided to keep it for myself. The tree was from Home Sense, an overpriced home decor chain in Canada. They never mark their shit down for sale, unless it's damaged. I got this tree for a whopping $4 off the original price ($19.99). It was just a plain champagne coloured tinsel tree that was missing a base. The base must have shattered. Everyone overlooked it, it was just lying there on its side in the clearance section. I scooped it up, I knew it would be an easy fix. I visited the thrift store across the street and bought a replacement planter for a $1. I spray painted it in gold, stuffed the tree and the foam insert inside, added some glitter and jewels (it had been white styrofoam, which I felt was a little garish on its own). I glued the tree in place and then I started to decorate it. I picked up some pearl, gold and silver coloured mini bulbs from the Superstore for $4. The only thing I was missing was the tree topper, which I fashioned out of galvanized wire, cardstock, paint, glitter and a star shaped jewel. I love my tree. Aside from the supplies that I already owned, this thing pretty much cost me $25 to make. I think I did well with this project. :)

I also put up the stockings and my usual Hello Kitty tree in my sewing room. Although I haven't spent much time out of bed to enjoy any of it. :/

The House

You may have noticed I've neglected to talk about the new townhouse... There's a good reason for that. We might not be living here, soon. I'm not going to lie, the house is lovely. It's very beautiful, but I think new places are a tad overrated. This four year old building was poorly built. I can hear the pipes running through the walls, the master bedroom is drafty, walls and windows were built on weird, unlevel angles. It's total bullshit. If you've ever felt like you were missing out on something by not living in a new house or apartment, you can rest assured that it's not the case. The major problem here is our asshole neighbors. The guy next door is one of those self-centered showboat pricks. Can you believe he has a Dodge Charger and acts like it's all that? When there's an AUDI across the street? It makes me laugh, except for when he blares his surround sound system, which is almost ALL the time.

When we first experienced it we were certain a train was rushing past the house that we weren't aware of, or a moving truck stalled in the parking lot. But no, it's these pricks. We asked them about it and they just lied and pretended like it was someone else, even though we could see them watching movies and hear it blaring all through their unit. I've asked property management about this repeatedly, they've talked to the couple twice, we've talked to the couple twice, there hasn't been a shred of improvement. The noise is so loud it shakes the china in my cupboards and makes me feel physically ill. The stress alone is killing us and seems to be driving us apart. There's no where in the house we can hide, it penetrates all walls, in every room. I tried to hide in the bathroom with a relaxing bath, but I could feel it in there too. We're prisoners in our house. It's devastating. We've spent so much money to live and move here.

I'm awaiting further information from property management, but if I don't hear from them this afternoon I'm calling their asses up and giving them an ultimatum. Either they fucking fix this problem, or we seek legal compensation. It says outright in our lease that we have the right to enjoy our unit in peace and quiet, and that no tenant should be allowed to create noise that will effect the enjoyment of the premises. What should happen is that the team should either tear down the wall and install more soundproofing in the next door unit, or the condo lawyer should go after them for violating the condo laws. The problem is, though, is that most property management teams don't like the idea of spending money on the lawyer, and since we're tenants and not owners (like these dickbag neighbors) we'll probably be kicked out. I have legal grounds to break the lease without penalty, but what a fucking nightmare. If the property developer honestly believes the next tenants will put up with this shit, he's out of his damn mind. I'm happy that asshole will lose money on this.

Conclusion

So yeah. I haven't sewn, I don't have the heart to. I'm so depressed and stressed I hide in my room all the time, which is probably for the best given my health issues. I cry a lot and wish that I were "home", only I don't actually have a home. This is just an overpriced hotel suite. There is no home to run away to.

I hope in the New Year I can have better luck, but right now I just don't know what to think. I miss blogging, I miss reading your blogs, and I will read them more often now that I'm off work. But until I can unpack my stuff and have a reliable living situation, you might not hear much from me. :(

Sorry things haven't been going well. I hear you about birthdays...no one ever went to mine. When I've asked, they always say they were lazy. People suck. Good luck with your living situation...hope you find a solution soon.

Thank you! I know, nobody seems to care anymore. I had a few friends wish me happy birthday, but the one never does. I don't know why, I wish her a happy birthday, I even stopped by and visited her a few weeks back, but she never wrote me about my birthday or anything. I saw her online the whole day! People do suck. :/

Thank you!! I love my little tree, it makes me think of the roaring 20's, probably because of all the gold. :) As far as my place goes, I think I'm in a battle I can't win. Sadly, we'll probably have to move, I just hope it's someplace lovely and quiet and not sketchy like the last one. Maybe I should put that in a classified ad lol, "seeking, quiet, affordable house that isn't sketchy".

Can't catch a break, huh =/ ... I understand how you feel, I really do-- when I lived in Canada we had some very inconsiderate neighbors. Just the worst. Of course it didn't help that the part of town we lived in was a little on the shady side and near a dive bar heh.

I admit I am guilty of being a bit anti social-- I miss the birthdays and holidays of people I love. I don't hate people... I'm just afraid of going out most times. If I think about the act of going out too much, I tend to talk myself out of it.

See I didn't think this area would have bad neighbors. I've gone from a sketchy, impoverished, drug dealing neighborhood, to a neighborhood where people think they're entitled to do whatever they want just because they have money. I can't win. We're looking at moving into the country now.

I'm guilty for not going to events myself. I once was one of two people who attended a former friend's birthday, and she treated us like crap the entire time (I think because she was upset). I don't go any more to gatherings unless it's a best friend and I know I'll enjoy it. I can also understand others not going, many of my friends struggle with social anxiety disorders, but it doesn't hurt to write.

Record and log! Write down all times they blare their sound system and record a little bit of it every time, on your phone or iPad. Proof weighs heavier than your word.

Your cake is great! But don't be sad people barely showed up. In Sweden we don't expect people to come around on our birthday unless we have expressively invited them to dinner at a set time, several weeks in advance. Otherwise you get a text, or phone call, tops. It's just how the modern world rolls :)

I'm definitely contemplating getting the specialty microphone and a sound meter to record it all. I want to amass as much evidence as possible, so I can make them pee their pants when we take them to court!!

I guess it's harder for me with birthdays because our family was very traditional and did a lot for every birthday (young or old), since some of the members have passed away or gotten older, I've noticed the change. My mom is a lot more reclusive than she used to be, she calls herself a "home body", and my dad likes to do his own thing. When I invite them over it seems like they're in a rush to get away after only 15 minutes, and I feel like we have good conversations. Maybe that's just what retired living is lol.

Did I say happy bday to you yet or not? O_O if not: very belated happy bday <3 - and if a place does not feel right it is best to move out (well, easy to say for a person who has gypsie feet and seems to be a moving addict that is proud she managed to live in her current flat for 1 year now *cough*) but I have to agree, new flats are missing something...take care <3

Thank you! :) I had a nice birthday. It was a lot of fun decorating and baking. I definitely want to move, it's only a matter of time now. Hopefully we'll find something that suits our needs (maybe a bungalow built in the 80's or 70's, something old enough to be built properly but not so old it's falling apart, lol!!).

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